1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to messaging communication technology and more particularly to managing multi-user discussions using one or more messaging technologies.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Messaging services such as Instant messaging (IM) are a form of communication enabling users to communicate with one another in real time through text, voice and/or video messages. The messages are conveyed by terminals of the communicating users connected over a communication network (e.g. the internet, cellular network, etc.), where the users use GUI based messaging applications run by their terminals to initiate communication and to receive and transmit messages. Some IM and other messaging services provide an indication of the availability of parties which users can communicate with.
IM applications and services such as “Messenger” or “Skype” enable users to register to each service, where the IM service supports communication between users registered to the IM service. IM services allow their users to communicate through various communication and discussion messaging techniques such as text messaging, video and/or audio messaging. The messaging is online and is delivered in real time or near real time.
Each member (registered user) may have a personal friends-list indicating the member's friends who are also registered to the messaging service, where the communication details (e.g. IP addresses) of all members in the friends-list are known in the system operating the service. Accordingly, to send a message via, for example, the Messenger service, the member simply selects a friend from the friends-list and inputs a text message, where the Messenger service transmits the message to the selected friend.
Recently, social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Flicker and the like, take up a major role in the world of communication. Most social networks apply IM technologies to allow their members to transmit and receive messages in real time.